Chapter 1
Never before had I been this nervous. I wasn't ready for this by any stretch of the imagination. The great hall was completely packed, students of all ages sat at their respective house tables. I stood at the back of the first years, hardly able to see over all of their heads. I watched as Professor Coulsin approached the teachers table as a stool suddenly appeared. Then he set an old haggard looking hat upon the stool. The hat itself looked like it was older than dirt, wrinkled and torn at the edges. If it weren't for the stories I had heard before this I would think it was just another antique witch's hat. The hat slowly unfurled and all of us watched in awe as it began to sing.
As soon as the hat finished singing it gave a small speech and then Professor Coulsin stepped up to start reading off names. I felt my whole body stiffen, suddenly unable to swallow. The sorting had officially begun. There were about eighty of us, my last name being closer to the end, so it seemed to take forever.
"Banner, Amelia!" I looked up as my cousins name was called. I watched as she slowly made her way to the stool, her red hair pulled back in a braid. She sat down and the hat was placed on her head. Almost immediately it called out, "GRYFFINDOR!" The teachers table rang out with applause as she cheerfully all but bounced over to her new house.
"Osborn, Harry." I looked up towards the table shyly to watch a small dark haired boy approach the stool before slowly sitting down, the hat placed upon his head. The second the hat was placed it opened its mouth and bellowed out, "SLYTHERIN!" A small smile set on the boys face as he popped up and walked over to his new cheering house, his robes turning green as he did. I had always liked the color green. My eyes caught my fathers as I looked back up to the teachers table. He gave me a big encouraging smile and I felt my stomach further plummet. My whole family was sat up at that table, minus my cousins of course. Both of my fathers sat next to each other, looking greatly overjoyed to soon see me sorted. They were both teachers, and had been since before I was born. Dad had been a ravenclaw, whereas Pops had been a Gryffindor. They had never said it out loud, but I knew they would be upset if I wasn't put in one of those houses. So, I was really nervous.
"Rogers-Stark, Peter!" I froze, my eyes going wide. The remaining first years all seemed to turn and look at me expectantly. I swallowed thickly and started walking up to the stool. It seemed like a thousand miles before I finally reached the steps. I trudged up them and barely noticed Uncle Phil's small smile of encouragement as I slipped down onto the stool. The hat was placed on my head and I suddenly felt as though I couldn't breathe.
"Well well well, I can honestly say I never expected to have another Stark. You're a tricky one too."
"Please put me in one of their houses, please."
"Oh, but you wouldn't do well there. So eager to please your fathers, to please your family; willing to do ANYTHING to achieve their approval. You would thrive in only one house, even if you wish it were not true. If your family cannot see that it is where you belong, then they truly are blind to your needs."
"but-"
"SLYTHERIN!" The house cried out and I almost choked on a sob. I heard the green house cheer out in surprise of having the son of the worlds most loyal gryfindor in their house. I felt Uncle Phil remove the hat from my head and strictly refused to make eye contact with him. I stood up quickly and walked over to sit next to the Osborn boy I had seen earlier. I kept my head down even after sitting, smiling at anyone who welcomed me but still adamant to not look towards the teachers. No one in my family had ever been sorted into slytherin, not even Aunt Tasha had been one. She had been a gryffindor. Uncle Loki had been the only slytherin, and my parents weren't exactly on wonderful terms with him. I looked up and saw three of my cousins giving me blank stares from the gryffindor table. I gulped and looked away, closing my eyes tightly.
"Hey, you can't let them get to you. If they judge you for being here then they didn't deserve your friendship anyways." A voice spoke from beside me. I blinked owlishly at the boy before recognizing him as the one I had seen earlier; Osborn. "I'm Harry by the way, Harry Osborn."
"Peter." I croaked back in a small voice, watching as he grinned at my response.
"Well, Peter. I think this is going to be a great year. I look forward to being your friend, Mr. Stark-Rogers." He replied, winking at the end. Then he looked back to watch the rest of the first years get sorted. I shot him another look before watching them again myself. All I could think was that maybe slytherin wouldn't be all bad after all.
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(Five years later)
It wasn't that I didn't enjoy summer, I did. I was just heavily ready to go back to school, and back to Harry. It was also a tad annoying to be cooped up in a mansion full of gryffindors and hufflepuffs, honestly they were about as annoying as humanly possible. There was also the small detail that none of us were friends, we never even talked at school. It had been that way for five years now, ever since I had been sorted into the 'snake house', none of them seemed to want anything to do with me. Me and Amelia had been inseparable before Hogwarts and now we never talked. Not that I minded much. I had Harry now. Even my fathers didn't seem to see me the same way, they had tried to remain the same for a while, but I had decided it was better to distance myself from them. It was better this way.
"Peter?! Kiddo, are you ready?" Dad's voice traveled up the stairs. I shrunk down my trunks and stuffed them into my black skinny jeans pocket. I reached over and grabbed my cloak and tie before going out into the hall and making my way downstairs. The rest of the family was at the bottom of the stairs dressed in all sorts of reds and yellows. Pops looked over and seemed to freeze at my outfit, but he should have expected it, honestly. I was dressed in a tighter emerald green v-neck t-shirt, a pair of black skinny jeans, black converse with green socks underneath, and Harry's dark grey beenie over my stark blond hair.
Everyone was all clumped up, hugging and saying tearful goodbyes. Which made little sense because we were all going to the same place seeing as the adults were all hogwarts professors. I rolled my eyes and walked over into the next room. I trudged up to the fireplace and took a handful of floo powder into my hand. Without a second glance at my family I tossed it into the fire and ducked in, stepping out in the office of the train station.
"Blimey, lad! Ya' nearly gave me a heart attack! You frisky wizards and your magic fire dust, transporting places." The office managed scoffed, leaning back down to rummage through his desk. I shot a superior glare and the small man before continuing on out to platform 9 3/4. No sooner had I stepped out than I was being pulled into a bone crushing hug.
"Peter! I can't wait to tell you all about my summer! You are no longer allowed to go back to all those lions! Next summer you are going home with me." He commanded, my face tucked into his shoulder. I smiled and hugged back with equal enthusiasm.
"Alright, I suppose I could agree to that. Good luck convincing my father though." I mumbled the last part, trying to keep the bitterness out of my voice.
"So, did you just ditch the lions or something?" Harry asked, pulling back to smirk down at me.
"Something like that." I drawled, "It's not that I don't like them or anything, it's just that they act as if I'm invisible."
"Well, you'll never be invisible to me." I felt a blush creep on, but was luckily saved by a small brunette slamming into my side.
"PETER!!!! Oh my god, I haven't seen you in, like, totes forever!!" Kate shrieked, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck and nearly knocking me down. "You have to tell me everything! Did you go on vacation? Did you meet any cool people? Did your family drive you crazy?!-" I pulled her off me as I laughed. She gave me a fake angry face before falling into a fit of giggles herself.
"No one can understand you when you talk that fast, Kate." Harry chuckled, leaning over towards me.
"Uh, well, that's a personal problem."
The whistle suddenly blew, signaling for all the students to board. The three of us collected our stuff and headed on to get a good compartment before they were all taken. We ended up settling on a larger one towards the back. I unshrunk my trunks and threw them all up above the seats with the others before settling in the seat next to Harry, Kate sitting across from us. She was all but bouncing with excitement when the train finally started moving from the station.
"Sooooooooo, did you guys tell your parents about, ya know, the thing?" She asked, gesturing between the two of us. I felt my cheeks light up with a blush at what she was implying. Harry seemed to choke on air for a moment before regaining his composure and answering her.
"I failed to see the importance in sharing the 'news' with my father. I could have, but it was just...eh." He drawled.
"How 'bout you then, Pete? Since Osborn is being a snobbish prat." Kate joked, sticking her tongue out at Harry.
"I, uh, never really got a chance. Dad and Pops were pretty busy this summer... I mean, it's alright. They probably wouldn't care anyways." I mumbled, crossing my arms across my chest to try and ease the tension.
"I say we kill 'em." Kate growled. Harry and I both gave her a serious look for a moment before all three of us broke out into a fit of giggles. Slytherin really wasn't bad after all.